Various devices have been used for winding elongate flexible members, such as wire, rope, hose, tubing, or electrical cord, within a reel assembly, so that the flexible member can be more easily stored. By properly storing such an elongate member, kinks and twists in the flexible member are minimized, thereby minimizing difficulties encountered when unwinding the flexible member from the reel assembly for subsequent use. Also, many flexible members serving as electrical or fluid transmitters cannot efficiently serve their intended purpose after the flexible member has been repeatably kinked. Most individuals have experienced difficulty when winding or transporting conventional water hoses or electrical cords, and can thus appreciate the advantages of an easily operable device to assist in coiling, decoiling and storing the water hose or the electrical cord.
Some previously devised units are relatively simple storage devices which form a container for receiving the elongate member in a coil, so that the container facilitates the shipment and storage of the hose or other elongate member. Such relatively simple storage devices may not be designed to rotate, or may not be intended to facilitate either the winding of the flexible elongate member into the assembly, or the decoiling or unwinding of the elongate member from the assembly. Typical prior art storage containers for elongate members are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,384,140, 3,776,262, and 4,330,005. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,911,996 and 4,588,083 disclose water hose containers which do not significantly assist in winding the hose within the reel assembly or in removing the hose from the reel assembly.
Various other reel assemblies are specifically adapted and can practically be used for only one type of elongate flexible member. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,989,980 and 3,804,111 are each directed to a complex and expensive assembly for storing flexible tubing used in oil recovery operations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,010 discloses a hose container primarily intended for large-scale irrigation purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,984,685 and 5,103,977 each disclose an assembly which is adapted for storing electrical cords or lines. U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,731 is directed to a reel and storage container for a fishtape. The cost of the reel assembly can be substantially reduced if a reel assembly is adapted for use with more than one type of elongate flexible member, and the practical benefits of the device to the user are enhanced if the device has the multi-purpose capability of being used to easily coiling, decoiling, and storing numerous types of elongate flexible members.
Various equipment has been devised for storing flexible water hoses which are commonly used for lawn or garden watering, or are used to connect a recreational vehicle to an adjacent water outlet. Many of these prior devices are particularly suited for stationary applications. U.S. Pat. No. 2,334,141 discloses a hose reel which is adapted to be secured to the exterior wall of a house or building. Another version of fixed installation reel assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,299,521. The assembly described in the latter patent includes a stationary guide for facilitating rewinding the hose onto the rotatable reel.
Other hose reel assemblies do not allow the coiled hose to be removed from the reel assembly for storage at another location, or are not designed to prevent a section of coiled hose from "jumping out" or coming up out of the assembly in a manner which will cause undesirable twisting or kinking of the hose. U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,243 discloses a reel assembly with a rotatable reel, but the wound hose cannot be easily separated from or replaced on the reel. U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,996 discloses a portable water hose storage unit, but the assembly is both bulky and presumably difficult to use, does not rotate to assist in coiling or decoiling, and allows a wrap of stiff coiled hose to jump out of the assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,215 discloses an assembly for coiling a water hose, but the assembly requires that the hose exit through a slot of a particular location, and the assembly does not allow the coiled hose to be easily removed.
Prior art reel assemblies accordingly have one or more problems or characteristics which have limited their acceptance by many potential users. As indicated above, some of these devices are not portable for use at various locations, while other devices are intended for use with only a particular type of elongate member, such as an electrical cord, and cannot be used for a water hose or other elongate member. Some reel assemblies can accommodate the intended flexible elongate member, but a fitting, nozzle, or other device attached to the discharge end of the elongate member cannot fit within the reel assembly, so that these end attachments necessarily are susceptible to damage while remaining attached to the elongate member and thus stored external of the reel assembly. Other prior art devices are functionally intended merely for storage, and do not assist in unwinding the hose or other elongate member from the reel, or in rewinding the hose within the reel assembly. Some units employ a spring which may be biased to assist in winding, but which complicate the structure of the reel assembly and increase the cost of the assembly. Some biased reel storage assemblies require that the elongate flexible member be wound on the reel in a certain direction, e.g., clockwise, and that the flexible member accordingly be unwound from the reel assembly in the opposite direction. Other reel assemblies perform reasonably well under ideal temperature conditions, but do not work satisfactorily when winding a hose or other elongate plastic member which is cold and thus more rigid. Many prior art reel assemblies are bulky, and cannot be easily shipped and quickly used by the purchaser.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved reel assembly is hereinafter disclosed which is suitable for storing the plurality of elongate tubular members, and is particularly well suited for both storing and coiling/decoiling a flexible elongate member which serves as a fluid, vacuum, or electrical transmitter, such as a water hose. The reel assembly of the present invention also substantially assists in winding the hose in a coil within the reel, and facilitates the easy unwinding of the hose from the reel with minimal hose kinking or twisting.